Tarrant sleeping at TV studio

He could probably phone a friend to ask for a bed for the night but TV host Chris Tarrant has taken to sleeping in his TV studio after his marriage break-down.

The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? host, who has been forced to leave his family home in Esher, Surrey, after admitting to an affair, has been spending lonely nights in a suite at the Elstree studios in Hertfordshire.

Close friends of Chris, 59, say he is not in hiding after splitting from Ingrid, but is sleeping there because he finds filming Millionaire? "very gruelling."

It contradicts Chris's previous comments on his home-life, where he said: "I always try and get home, however late, even if it's only for a few hours to sleep in my own bed."

Even though Chris can't return to the home he shared with Ingrid, his wife of 15 years, there is also the secret love nest he brought to enjoy trysts with his blonde mistress Fiona McKechnie.

The pair apparently had a ten year relationship, and for the past two years used the £1.5 million Berkshire mansion to spend time together.

Chris and Ingrid, who have two teenage children, are now negotiating a divorce which could see his suffering wife receive half of his £35 million fortune.

Meanwhile, the TV star is being lined up as a 'dream date' on eBay by DatingDirect.com. He is described online as blonde, 6ft 2in, a Libra, with interests in fishing and trivia.